I'm a long time Windows and Linux user giving an old Macbook I brought back to life a fair shake. I'm running Snow Leopard.

One of the frustrations I've had over the past couple weeks is that I can't easily navigate large numbers of windows.

I'm used to alt-tab and the task bar. I'd use alt-tab to go to the most recent windows, and the task bar to go to very old ones.

On MacOS, I've been using command-tab to switch between applications, then command-backtick to switch between active windows, but command-backtick is inconsistent, and command-tab isn't consistent in Firefox with multiple virtual desktops (it seems to take you to the most recent window on the active desktop, rather than the most recent window in the app).

What is inconsistent about command-`? Also, regarding command-tab and Firefox: What is the state of the checkbox labeled "When switching to an application ..." under System Preferences -> Mission Control? This setting can affect the behavior your experiencing
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ephsmithJun 26 '12 at 14:06

command-tab takes me to the previous app, but command-` takes me to the next active window (rather than the previous). Does Mission Control exist in Snow Leopard?
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mgjkJun 26 '12 at 14:14

ahhh. That is precisely what command-` is called in keyboard shortcuts. Try command-shift-` to get the previous window. Using shift with command-tab reverses it's direction as well.
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ephsmithJun 26 '12 at 14:17

What about your Mission Control settings? I'm still curious about the issue you were having with Spaces (virtual desktops).
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ephsmithJun 26 '12 at 14:18

I don't seem to have Mission Control. Should I?
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mgjkJun 26 '12 at 14:20

I'm trying a little utility called "window commander" it seems to be designed to do exactly what I'm used to in Windows... sadly, I'd hope that there would be a more mac-like solution for this. Window Commander is glitchy with Spaces and glitchy with cmd-shift-tab, but it gets app order very well. Spaces were a hack for me anyway, a working cmd-tab makes them unnecessary. Expose was less than useless, so it's disabled now too. Thanks for the tip though +1.
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mgjkJun 27 '12 at 15:46